Brazil thrashes Haiti to end Orlando Copa America run
Brazil beat Haiti 7-1 at Camping World Stadium last night to end 6 days of hectic action in Orlando for the Copa America tournament.
The first game on 4th June saw a scoreless draw between Costa Rica and Paraguay in front of a crowd of 14,334. Two days later the remnants of Tropical Storm Colin lashed down as Panama beat Bolivia 2-1 in an exciting match played in front of 13,466 fans.
The game went down to the wire until Blas Pérez (pictured above) notched an 87th-minute winner, to give Panama the 2-1 victory in the Copa América Centenario Group D opening game.
It was the second goal of the evening for the 35-year-old Pérez, who plays for M.L.S.’s Vancouver Whitecaps, after he opened the scoring in the 11th minute before Bolivia’s Juan Arce evened the game in the 54th minute.
Brazil came to Orlando after a disappointing 0-0 draw in their opener against Ecuador needing a victory to get back on track. They managed that with a rousing 7-1 thrashing of Haiti as Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho (pictured above) grabbed a hat-trick as he opened the scoring on 14 minutes, doubled his country’s lead on 28 minutes and completed his hat-trick in second-half stoppage time.
Beijing Guoan midfielder Renato Augusto weighed in with a brace while the remaining two goals were converted by substitutes Gabriel Barbosa and Lucas Lima.
Despite a poor performance, Haiti did have something to cheer about when they pulled a goal back through James Marcelin on 70 minutes.
Copa America now moves on to the final group games before the competition enters its knock out stage and ultimately the final which will be played on 26th June at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
More photos from the tournament at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
